Background: Ehud Olmert, later to become a failed Prime Minister, had earlier been a failed mayor of Jerusalem:

January 30, 1998

Mr. Tolerance

We in Bat Shalom are not aware of any positive contribution by Mayor Ehud Olmert of Jerusalem to coexistence between Jews and Arabs in this city. We were thus dumbfounded to read that the mayor, together with 2 other Israeli mayors, will be lecturing February 12th at Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem on the subject “How I as mayor promote tolerance in my city, and what I am doing to ease the tension between various factions”.

Lest we forget: It was Mayor Olmert who flaunted his domination over the non-Jews in Jerusalem by opening a tunnel near the Temple Mount that led to confrontations ending in 80 deaths – Palestinian and Israeli. It was Olmert who taunted Netanyahu into constructing a new settlement at Har Homa (Jabal abu Ghaneim), and sought to repeat the incident at Ras al-Amud. It is Olmert who is executing a “quiet transfer” of Palestinians out of Jerusalem by canceling their residency status. And it is Olmert who is implementing a state policy of demolitions against Palestinian homes in Jerusalem.

Currently, 700 Arab homes in Jerusalem (and more outside the city) are scheduled for demolition. Many of us fear that the demolitions will begin in earnest after the Ramadan fast ends this week, as the police have established a new 24-person squad whose only task is to carry out the demolition of Palestinian homes. Thus, we are stepping up activities to try to prevent this.

Last night, we took our case to the Jerusalem city council. About 40 of us – members of the Committee Against House Demolitions, which includes Bat Shalom, Rabbis for Human Rights, Gush Shalom, Meretz, and Peace Now – infiltrated the gallery as the municipal meeting convened. When Mayor Olmert struck his gavel to open the session, a group stood up and unfurled banners “Stop the Demolition of Homes”. We took everybody by surprise, and it took a while for them to understand what was happening. One of us read out a declaration condemning the home demolitions and the policy that refuses construction permits to Palestinians. Finally Hizzoner said, “Get those hoodlums out of here”, and the guards escorted the first wave out. Then the next group stood up and began again. Several waves later, all had been escorted out the door, but not before the media people had photographed the event and information flyers had been distributed to all the city councilors and guests. The message was conveyed.

Please help us prevent the next batch of demolitions from happening. Email letters of protest to the political leaders whose names appear below.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear sir/madame:

The demolition of Palestinian homes by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is wrong. It is based on a policy that denies building permits to Palestinians and then, when homes are built to relieve overcrowding, the police demolish them.

We note that:

· Demolition of a home is cruel and inhuman punishment to the families – most of whom are children. It leaves behind trauma, devastation, and destitution.

· Demolition of Palestinian homes constitutes a gross violation of the right of all human beings to adequate housing, and contravenes major international human rights conventions ratified by the state of Israel.

· Home demolition is an act of violence that undermines the desire for peace among the Palestinian population, and encourages extremist elements.

We demand that Israeli authorities immediately cease the demolition of Palestinian homes in the territories, and issue building permits to accommodate the natural growth and expansion of the Palestinian population.

* * *

January 31, 1998

Letter to Madeline Albright

Dear Ms. Albright:

We Palestinian and Israeli women have a vision of peace based on mutual respect for the rights of both peoples to fulfill their national aspirations. This involves recognizing the rights of each to a state with territorial contiguity, secure borders, and full sovereignty.

The Israeli government treats the peace process as a zero sum game in which the occupied territories are perceived in terms of security zones and buffers. This government is derailing the peace process with its policies to expand settlements, maintain a closure, demolish homes, hold political detainees without trial, confiscate identity cards, bar Palestinian access to Jerusalem, and refuse safe passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. These policies violate human and political rights, undermine the Palestinian economic, social and cultural fabric, and effectively maintain Israeli sovereignty over another people.

We appeal to the leaders of the United States and Europe to help enforce the peace process that is already in place; and we call upon Israeli and Palestinian political leaders to shape a peace agreement that will provide a framework for the development of genuinely peaceful relations between the two nations and ensure the security of both. This cannot be achieved without two states for two peoples, and the city of Jerusalem serving as two capitals for these two states.

Ms. Albright, we are aware of your tireless efforts for peace in the Middle East, and we appreciate them deeply. In parallel, we would like to make you aware of the tireless efforts that we are making on the grassroots level on behalf of peace. Without devoted commitment on both levels, and on the part of our national leaders, our peoples will continue to pay the price in blood, and peace will remain an elusive dream.

The Jerusalem Link

* * *

Background: This statement was written as U.S. President Clinton contemplated launching an all-out war on Iraq under Saddam Hussein. How awful that millions of men, women, and children can be pushed to the brink of war by a few powerful men driven by personal gain in all its permutations.

February 25, 1998

War is a Crime

War was, is, and will continue to be a crime, no matter how many seals of approval it receives from international bodies. No amount of rhetoric can justify the act of war – not even a war against Saddam Hussein.

Who makes war?

Politicians who fan and exploit fear to buttress their power;

industrialists who develop and sell weapons;

military leaders who see brute force as a means of problem-solving.

Who pays the price of war?

The poor, the elderly, children, young men and women in uniform – all those innocent of the decision to make war.

Yes, we condemn Saddam Hussein – and all industrialized countries, including the United States and Israel – who use their technological prowess to develop horrifying machines of mass destruction – biological, chemical, and nuclear.

Yes, we believe that countries (and individuals) must defend themselves against aggression.

But, we also believe that there are better means of self-defense than burying human beings under the rubble of bombed out houses. And that bombs only delay – cruelly and counter-productively – the negotiated settlement that must take place in any case.

We, Israeli women for peace, demand that the leaders of both sides stop their aggressive male posturing and use their heads to pursue alternative ways of resolving the conflict.

Grow up. And give our children a chance to grow up too.

* * *

February 19, 1998

Speaking Truth to Intolerance

We have had two important actions in recent days. In this letter, I will tell you about one – a demonstration held by Bat Shalom to protest the discriminatory policies of Mayor Ehud Olmert against Arab Jerusalemites.

It began because an Israeli organization invited the mayors of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, and Haifa to speak about “How I as mayor promote tolerance in my city”. In light of what Mayor Ehud Olmert of Jerusalem does to destroy the fabric of tolerance in Jerusalem, we in Bat Shalom felt that this was an event begging for a demonstration.

Outside the hall, our signs greeted invited guests as they arrived: “Mr. Olmert, does tolerance = Har Homa?”, “Does tolerance = confiscation of land?”, “Does tolerance = demolition of homes?” “Does tolerance = unequal services to Arabs?”, and the like. We also distributed a fact sheet with statistics about the discrimination against Arab residents of Jerusalem.

As the audience settled down for the speeches, we also took seats around the hall. We were about 10 women in a room of several hundred, and we tried to position ourselves for maximum visibility when the moment came. The audience was dotted with well-known liberal figures – a Supreme Court judge, senior education officials, philanthropists, retired do-gooders – but no Arabs, of course. Everyone appeared quite self-satisfied about showing up to support tolerance.

The opening speeches droned on and we listened politely. Finally, our local mayor took the podium, and we geared up. As he finished his opening salutation – “Ms. Chairwoman, honorable Justice, dear Mr. Zilkha, etc., etc., etc.”, I took a deep breath and stood up from near the back of the hall. “Mr. Mayor,” I began, and that’s all I said before the turbulence hit. Many began to shout that interruptions are intolerable, that this was not a political forum, not a Knesset debate, not a demonstration plaza, etc. I stood quite still and waited for the noise to die down. Mayor Olmert at the mike interjected several times, “Let her speak – this is a conference about tolerance. We’ll show her what tolerance really means.”

Finally the room was silent and I was able to make the statement that we had agreed upon in advance: “In light of Mayor Olmert’s discriminatory treatment of the Arab residents of Jerusalem, we feel that he has no right to teach anyone about tolerance.” When I finished, the other women rose to their feet and unfurled signs with the same slogans as we had held outside. The audience began shouting again, but a few were clapping. One of the ushers ran over and started to rip the signs, but Olmert told her to stop “in the name of tolerance”, and after a minute or so of standing, we walked to the aisle and left the hall quietly.

We heard later that Mayor Olmert used our leaving to claim that we were intolerant “extremists”, since “truly tolerant” people would have stayed in the hall to hear him out. Several questions to the mayor pointedly repeated the themes that we had raised. That night we were interviewed on the army radio station and the next day an item appeared in Ha’aretz newspaper, but a large picture in the conservative Jerusalem Post showed Olmert with his arm around the Haifa mayor and was captioned: “Olmert scored points when he asked the audience to show tolerance toward a group of Bat Shalom demonstrators who disrupted proceedings just after he rose to speak. After the demonstrators left, Olmert said he wished they had the patience and tolerance to hear him out.”

That’s classic Olmert with his demagoguery. But our voice did come across. I also wrote an op ed piece for the Post, though I’m still awaiting its publication. “It has only local significance,” said the editor when I called. “What happens to Arabs in Jerusalem is of local interest only?” Editors can stifle some channels of communication, but speaking the truth will inevitably be heard.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The unpublished op-ed piece:

Mr. Tolerance?

Friday’s edition of the Jerusalem Post carried a large photograph of Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert with his arm around Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna, captioned “Talking Tolerance”. The text criticized Bat Shalom demonstrators for “intolerance” – our unwillingness to hear out Mayor Olmert’s views at Thursday’s conference on “Tolerance”.

The theme of the conference, sponsored by the organization Sovlanut [“tolerance”], was “How I as mayor promote tolerance in my city and reduce tension between groups in conflict”. Had the Jerusalem Post reporter given a more complete report, he would have noted that the Bat Shalom representative stated clearly that “In light of Mayor Olmert’s discriminatory treatment of the Arab residents of Jerusalem, we feel that he has no right to teach anyone about tolerance.” We stand by that statement.

The city of Jerusalem does run several token coexistence programs for Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem, but on the basic issues of municipal obligations to its residents, Mayor Olmert demonstrates blatant discrimination against Arab Jerusalemites:

(1) Unequal service provision to the Jewish and Arab sectors of the city: While Arabs comprise 30% of the population of Jerusalem, they benefit from only 5% of the city budget. This glaring discrepancy is evident in poorly paved streets, garbage collection in very few neighborhoods, insufficient classrooms, no preschool programs whatsoever, and neglect in many other areas.

(2) Expropriation of Arab lands for Jewish residents: More than a third of the land once owned by Arabs in Jerusalem was forcibly expropriated for the construction of 39,000 housing units on them – every single one of them for Jews. Is this tolerance? New housing for Arabs is still woefully inadequate – density is twice as high for Arab than Jewish residents of Jerusalem.

(3) Insufficient construction permits for Arab residences: When Arab Jerusalemites apply for permits to expand their living quarters or construct new homes, their requests are invariably denied or reduced to minimal amounts, while Jewish applications are judged by objective criteria. As a result, Arabs build homes without permits, and then the city demolishes these homes under the guise of “illegal construction”.

(4) Stripping Arab Jerusalemites of residency permits: In what has been termed “silent transfer” by local and international human rights observers, the Interior Ministry in cooperation with the Jerusalem municipality has revoked the residency status of Arab residents in an attempt to reduce the number of Arab residents of Jerusalem. It is estimated (Ha’aretz, 12 February 1998) that several thousand Arab Jerusalemites have been forced to leave their homes as a result of this policy.

“Tolerance” is more than just politely listening to another point of view. Tolerance means no discrimination and no political chicanery to deprive others of their fundamental rights. Tolerance means not building Jewish settlements in Har Homa and Ras al-Amud. Tolerance means celebrating, not seeking to destroy, the rich ethnic and religious fabric of this city.

When the mayor of Jerusalem begins to practice what he preaches, Bat Shalom and others will be happy to remain in the hall and learn from his lessons on tolerance.

# # #

March 11, 1998

Resuming Peace Activities

Now that the immediate threat of war against Iraq seems to have passed, we are wondering what excuse Netanyahu will be using to avoid peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Lately Netanyahu seems to be pursuing peace with Lebanon (via Syria). This peace, if he could achieve it, would give him a place in history, but also allow Israel to stall on the Palestinian track. Lebanon is an attractive objective because peace could be made there without having to return any divinely promised territory. (Fortunately for us, Jehovah in His Wisdom seems to have detoured around south Lebanon.) Peace with Lebanon, reasons Netanyahu, would place him in the pantheon with Menachem Begin, another bellicose right-winger, whose peace treaty with Egypt earned him a Nobel Peace Prize and an undeserved reputation for greatness. Syria, however, is unlikely to succumb to Netanyahu’s charms without getting the Golan Heights in return, and that is definitely not on Netanyahu’s agenda. Well, we were hoping...

A report about a few matters related to Israeli women’s peace work:

Women In Black

On Friday March 6, 150 Israeli women marked the 10th anniversary of Women in Black with a vigil in Jerusalem. It was a somber event. As noted by Hagar Roublev, the “high priestess” of Women in Black in Israel, “We hope we won’t be here commemorating our 20th anniversary.” Sumaya Farhat-Naser, director of the Jerusalem Center for Women (the Palestinian side of The Jerusalem Link), spoke about the solidarity of peace work by Israeli and Palestinian women, noting that “We cannot afford the luxury of hopelessness.” Other moving speeches were made by Israeli activist Yvonne Deutsch and Luisa Morgantini, head of the Italian Association for Peace, who has been a loyal ally for women making peace in this region for years.

International Women’s Day

Bat Shalom marked International Women’s Day on March 8th with a showing of the film “Nana” at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and addresses by two courageous feminist peacemakers. Dr. Nadera Shalhoub Kevorkian, professor at Hebrew University (in 3 disciplines - law, criminology, and social work) and activist for Palestinian women’s rights, talked about the politicization of the woman’s body – the effect of the political conflict on Palestinian women’s health and very life. Nadera gave several poignant examples, such as health services denied Palestinian women who refused to pay discriminatory city taxes, or the proposed pardon of men convicted of sexual crimes when political considerations outweigh the well-being of women. Attorney Leah Zemel – a human rights advocate who has defended Palestinians for years regardless of how hopeless the case or whether they can pay – spoke of the difficulty of true solidarity between Israelis and Palestinians in light of the power imbalance, and the self-centered, unsacrificing nature of peace activism for most Israelis. She also praised the few “flowers” in the peace movement, mentioning Women in Black and the Israeli mother of the teenage girl who was killed by a terrorist bomb, but who still found the strength to publicly affirm her commitment to peace and place the blame where it belonged – on Israel’s failure to offer a fair accommodation to the Palestinian people. The film “Nana” was then shown – a moving documentary co-produced by four young women directors – Israeli, Palestinian, French, and British – offering windows of insight into the lives of the directors’ grandmothers. We were fortunate to have Suheir Isma’il, the Palestinian director, in the audience, who spoke extemporaneously, making a plea for “real peace, not just words”.

Visit To Hebron

This was a solidarity visit on February 17th that I haven’t had a chance yet to report. A group of about 10 Bat Shalom women, including Knesset Member Anat Ma’or, visited the home of a Palestinian women who has been harassed by Israeli soldiers stationed on her roof. Over a period of weeks, several soldiers, intrusively posted on the roof overhanging the balcony of her home, used abusive language, made sexual threats, urinated into the family water supply, and indecently exposed themselves to this religious woman. Two of these soldiers were finally arrested and convicted, serving a 2-week sentence all told. The women of Bat Shalom sat on the balcony with the woman and expressed our anger and sympathy. We left her copies of a letter in Arabic that we asked her to share with her neighbors. The letter read in part:

“We condemn the abuse and humiliation of the Palestinian residents of Hebron, which is a direct outcome of the Israeli occupation and the presence of fanatic Jewish settlers in the city. We believe that the only way to end this injustice is establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel, in which Hebron will be under Palestinian sovereignty. We affirm our commitment to work tirelessly to bring about a peace between equals.”

The Jahalin Bedouin

The tribe of Bedouin known as the Jahalin had once lived in what was called southern Palestine. When the state of Israel was created, the tribe moved (not clear if this was voluntary or forced) to an area outside Israel’s borders. After the 1967 war, the Jahalin again found themselves under Israeli rule, and now Israel is demanding that they evacuate their lands. Why? To enable expansion of the Jewish settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim.

Many of the Jahalin have already been evicted and forcibly transferred, their belongings turned into garbage by Israeli army bulldozers. A group of 17 families returned to their homes, however, pending a court ruling. The Jahalin are willing to relocate, but only if a suitable site is found, and certainly not to the site they were given, which is in close proximity to a garbage dumping site and with insufficient pasture for their flocks.

Bat Shalom, together with Rabbis for Human Rights, has been organizing emergency aid to the Jahalin. If you live in Israel and can contribute blankets, warm clothes, or kitchen utensils, please deliver them to the Bat Shalom office. If you’d like to send a check, you can mail that to the office. We’ll keep you informed.

Home Demolitions

Finally, and sadly, home demolitions have been resumed at an increased pace in February and March. In recent weeks, 21 Palestinian homes were destroyed in the West Bank and Jerusalem areas. This makes a total of 560 Palestinian homes destroyed since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993, leaving thousands of individuals homeless.

Please take a moment to email or fax a letter to any or all of the authorities specified below.

* * *

March 18, 1998

Thank you, Robin Cook

Europe took a courageous moral stand yesterday when Britain’s Foreign Minister Robin Cook strode away from the Israeli who was officially briefing him on Jabel Abu Ghneim (Har Homa) to shake the hand of Salah Tamari, a Palestinian who has led the battle against the new Israeli settlement on this land.

Bat Shalom had a contingent of 8 women who joined other Israeli peace organizations on the mountain to applaud Cook’s efforts, but our voices were drowned out by the din of Israeli right-wingers shouting “Anti-Semite”, “Jerusalem Forever” and other angry slogans against the European rebuke.

But Bat Shalom together with its partners, The Jerusalem Center for Women (JCW), were able to convey our message directly to Minister Cook thanks to a little help from friends of the JCW.

When Mr. Cook entered the school yard of the Palestinian girls college to meet with Faisal Husseini, a joint contingent of The Jerusalem Link was waiting for him. Dr. Sumaya Farhat-Naser and I stepped forward, shook his hand, and introduced ourselves as the Palestinian and Israeli joint women’s peace movement. “We welcome you to the region,” I said, and Sumaya continued, “and we encourage European involvement in advancing the peace process”. “This is the warmest welcome I’ve had today,” responded Mr. Cook with a smile, and pushed forward through the mob of media to shake the hands of several Jerusalem Link women.

We handed Mr. Cook a letter, and we’d also like to share it with you:

Dear Mr. Cook:

The Israeli government is derailing the peace process with its policies to expand settlements, maintain a closure, demolish homes, hold political detainees without trial, confiscate identity cards, bar Palestinian access to Jerusalem, and refuse safe passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. These policies violate human and political rights, undermine the Palestinian economic, social and cultural fabric, and effectively maintain Israeli sovereignty over another people.

We appeal to the leaders of Europe to help put the peace process back on track; and we call upon Israeli and Palestinian political leaders to shape a peace agreement that will ensure the security of both peoples and provide a framework for the development of genuinely peaceful relations between them. This cannot be achieved without two states for two peoples and the city of Jerusalem serving as two capitals for these two states.

Mr. Cook, we are aware of the efforts made by the European Commission for peace in the Middle East, and we appreciate them deeply. In parallel, we would like to make you aware of the tireless efforts that we are making on the grassroots level on behalf of peace. Without devoted commitment on both levels, and on the part of our national leaders, our peoples will continue to pay the price in blood, and peace will remain an elusive dream.

Sumaya Farhat-Naser Gila Svirsky

The Jerusalem Center for Women Bat Shalom

* * *

May 4, 1998

Pomp and Counter Pomp

Israel launched its Independence Day celebrations in characteristic fashion, with all the pomp, spectacle, counter-pomp and counter-spectacle that we have learned to expect from this country. A report of a few events:

Torch Lighting

The traditional torch lighting by establishment-selected individuals at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery was matched by an “alternative torch lighting” sponsored by Yesh Gvul, in which 11 peace and human rights activists lit torches and spoke. Several hundred people came to hear speeches that sounded much different than those given at Mount Herzl. Some highlights:

§ Fighting ex-Knesset Member Shulamit Aloni expressed the hope that “Next year we celebrate 51 years of the state of Israel and the birthday of the Palestinian state”

§ Journalist Uri Avnery spoke in memory of Yitzhak Rabin and of Issam Sartawi, a Palestinian journalist who was a pioneer of dialogue with Israel.

§ Feminist activist Alice Shalvi called for independence for agunot [women refused a divorce by their husbands], battered women, and prostitutes in the sex slave trade.

§ Poet Natan Zach lit his torch in honor of Mordechai Vanunu, exposer of Israel’s nuclear warfare capacity, currently serving a prison sentence for revealing “state secrets”

§ Bedouin rights activist Nuri el-Uqbi called upon Israel to end the house demolitions, return land confiscated from the Bedouin, and recognize the “unrecognized” villages.

§ Conscientious objectors David Enoch and Yuval Lotem called upon brave young men to refuse army service in the occupied territories.

§ Gila Svirsky lit a torch in honor of the women’s peace organizations and also the gay community in Israel, who constitute a large portion of the peace camp.

§ Social justice activist Shlomo Vazana called for the government to pass the public housing reform law.

§ Political writer and activist Yehuda Meltzer called for a future Israel that will be more democratic, more just, and more peaceful.

§ And Lea Tsemel, human rights lawyer extraordinaire, spoke just as the fireworks from Mt. Herzl began to illuminate the sky above both ceremonies. Lea expressed the hope that the torch she kindled would light the interrogation rooms darkened with torture, and called for a Jerusalem that would turn its shining countenance upon its Palestinian inhabitants as well.

The voices of those who marked Independence Eve with acknowledgement of Israel’s sins, as well as hopes for its future, seemed to be a more honest and fitting tribute to Israel on its 50th anniversary than those in the state-sanctioned ceremonies.

Har Homa Face-Off

Independence Day saw a gathering of 10,000 right-wingers at Har Homa [Jabal abu-Ghaneim] for a day of picnicking, speeches, nationalist songs, and placement of the cornerstone for the settlement planned at the site. This was offset – in decibels rather than quantity – by a counter-demonstration of 1,000 activists from several peace organizations (including Bat Shalom, Peace Now, and Gush Shalom). We gathered in a wadi opposite the hill and directed our instruments of protest – sirens, horns, drums, cowbells, kazoos, trumpets, whistles, and chanting – at the spectacle opposite. Border police kept hustling to keep the two swirling vortexes of noise at a safe distance from each other, though individuals occasionally broke through and had to be forcibly returned to their respective camps. Under the present Israeli government, we cannot do very much, I’m afraid, but we all felt the need to raise our voices so that the settlers, the government, the outside world, our children, and heaven would know that this evil will not pass unremarked.

I hope that next Independence Day will be marked by peace, justice, and a sister state of Palestine beside the state of Israel.

# # #

May 17, 1998

More Death, Less Peace

We note with anger and grief the terrible loss of lives and the many injuries resulting from Israel’s brutal response to the Palestinian demonstrators who were marking al-Naqba (the catastrophe), the Palestinian term for Israel’s creation in 1948. The rage and frustration expressed by the demonstrators are a clear message – the loss of hope that progress can be made for peace.

To our Palestinian sisters and brothers, we extend our sympathy and solidarity as these terrible events take their toll. We appeal to you not to despair. We pledge as Israeli peace activists that we shall not relent in our efforts until a fair and just solution, mutually agreeable to both sides, is in place.

Before the riots began and in commemoration of al-Naqba, a joint statement was issued by the Jerusalem Link (the coordinating body of Bat Shalom and the Jerusalem Center for Women). The statement reads in part:

“The birth of Israel was inextricably bound up with tragedies for the Palestinian people – the transformation of 750,000 Palestinians into homeless refugees, separation of family members from each other, destruction of Palestinian villages and erasing all trace of their existence, the deterioration of community life, and the loss of a homeland... Peace requires a political solution that recognizes the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to exist as an independent state beside the state of Israel. This necessitates Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories... We seek a peace that permits all the peoples of the region to live in security and dignity, guided and inspired by the values of freedom, democracy, justice, and equality.”

# # #

May 21, 1998

Jerusalem Day is a Sham

In a few days, the government of Israel and extreme right-wing Israelis will march through the streets of Jerusalem celebrating what has become known as “Jerusalem Day”.

Again the media will repeat the well-worn theme of “united Jerusalem” even though everyone knows that Jerusalem is not and has never been united for even one day since 1967. Expropriation of land by force is not unification, just as rape is not love. Invisible walls divide east and west Jerusalem, walls of alienation and conflict, hatred and violence, and sometimes even bloodshed.

East Jerusalem is occupied territory - land appropriated by Israel from its Palestinian inhabitants. Israeli efforts to rid Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents include the denial of permits to construct homes, the destruction of Palestinian homes that are built without permits, and the expulsion of Arab Jerusalemites from their native city if they work or study outside Jerusalem. The technique is a shameful, deceitful manipulation of bureaucratic rules. “It is all legal,” they are able to defend themselves in court. We refuse to accept this immoral code of behavior.

On Jerusalem Day, as the settlers and their supporters celebrate their domination over Jerusalem in a triumphalist march through the Old City, we shall take our own stand. We invite you to join us along the wall near Jaffa Gate and hold aloft signs that call for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and a Jerusalem that is shared by both. We declare:

Jerusalem belongs to all of us - Israelis, Palestinians, and all its residents - Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Jerusalem must be a united city, open to all who enter it and belonging to all who dwell within. Jerusalem can be united only by mutual agreement between the two nations and their two states, Israel and Palestine, with Jerusalem serving as the capital of both.

# # #

May 25, 1998

So We Won’t Die in Any More Wars

“This is someone from the extreme right-wing speaking.

We’re going to burn down Bat Shalom and all you left-

wingers. Jerusalem belongs to us, period. Here’s

hoping you burn together with all the Arabs.”

This was the recorded message heard by people who called Bat Shalom this Saturday to get details about our Jerusalem Day demonstration. Someone had figured out our remote code and changed the message on the tape. The incident was typical of the aggressiveness of the far right toward peace activists, and this was heightened on “Jerusalem Day”, the most nationalistic day of our calendar.

“Jerusalem Day” celebrates “unified Jerusalem”, although the city has never been more divided. To celebrate, the government stages an annual parade with thousands of soldiers strutting their stuff around the walls of the Old City and through the center of town. Also annually, right-wing extremists run their more defiant version, swaggering through the Palestinian parts of town. Bat Shalom felt that the time had come to respond to that.

Negotiating with the police over a location for our demonstration turned into a contentious issue. The police sought to prevent us from being in proximity with the militant right, but Bat Shalom would not agree to being shunted away from the scene of action. We finally agreed on a location along the wall of the Old City near Jaffa Gate, although other organizations (Gush Shalom and Meretz) felt the spot was too exposed and vulnerable, and withdrew sponsorship of the event. We admit that this withdrawal from participation combined with the death threat made us uneasy.

Participants had to walk several kilometers to reach the site, as all roads near the Old City were closed due to the two marches. Nevertheless a group gathered at the appointed hour, and gradually swelled as individuals made their way through the noise, crowds, and military brass to reach us. In fact, many Gush Shalom and Meretz activists made their way there too, even though their organizations had formally dropped out.

We were about 70 demonstrators ultimately and we formed a long line on a hill perched above and behind the marchers below. We held signs reading “Jerusalem: 2 capitals for 2 states”; “Jerusalem Day is a Sham”, “East Jerusalem is Occupied Territory”; and “Palestinians Also Live in Jerusalem”. One old man had hand-lettered and pinned to himself his own long-winded message: “Please be respectful of our Muslim neighbors as Jerusalem is also holy to them, so we won’t die in any more wars”.

The police were tense and alert, pouncing on anyone who looked too hard at us, and dragged away one young man who made a rush at us. They wouldn’t let me wander away from the area, as I wore a Bat Shalom t-shirt with a prominent women’s peace symbol on it. Many settlers eyed us angrily as they walked by, their rifles slung across their backs. A line of sitting ducks was the image that crossed my mind and the police seemed to feel the same way. But we all stood quietly – no speeches, no chanting, no cat-calls – watching the nationalistic fervor run its course in the streets below.

When the parade had dwindled down to nothing and even the spectators were packing up to go home, we rolled up our signs. The police looked relieved. A priest appeared out of nowhere and blessed us for what we did. Someone helped the old man unpin his sign so he could get home safely. As they left, participants thanked Bat Shalom for organizing it. “This proves once again,” said one of the Meretz participants, “that women are the most courageous part of the peace movement.” Actually there were lots of men with us today, but we were the ones who refused to back down.

June 3, 1998

31 Years of Occupation – Enough!

June 5th marks the 31st anniversary of the occupation by Israel of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. Imagine – 31 long years! Despite advances made by the Oslo Accords, Israel was, is, and remains an occupying power:

What Does Occupation Mean In Practice?

The Territories

· Israel continues to be in sole control of 73% of the West Bank and 44% of the Gaza Strip. This is true even though Jewish settlers comprise only 7% of the population of the territories.

· Israel continues to confiscate thousands of acres from the Palestinians in order to expand settlements and build bypass roads to them. Har Homa is only one such example. Not only is this a violation of international law, but creating “facts on the ground” pre-empts any good faith negotiation with the Palestinians in the final status talks.

Closure [=sealing in the occupied territories]

· Since March 1993, closure has never fully been lifted, although there are periods during which it is eased. Closure plays havoc with the Palestinian economy, which is dependent upon Palestinian workers entering Israel.

· Approximately 29% of the Palestinian labor force in the territories is unemployed. During closure, unemployment soars to 50% or more in the West Bank and an astounding 70% in Gaza.

· Thousands of Palestinian students cannot attend university because of Israel’s failure to comply with the Oslo agreement to provide passage between the West Bank and Gaza.

Other Occupational Hazards

· House demolitions continue to take place in the territories, sometimes as a punitive measure against the families of suspected terrorists, sometimes to pressure the inhabitants to emigrate, and sometimes to prevent Palestinian economic development (especially in East Jerusalem). Just yesterday (June 2), demolitions were carried out against 6 more Palestinian homes, creating more homeless families and breeding more anti-Israel sentiment.

· The Oslo Agreements give Israel far-reaching control over the autonomous areas of the Palestinian Authority – control over access by land, sea and air; veto power over bills in the Palestinian Legislative Assembly; and the right to enter any part of the autonomy at will for what Israel deems to be its security needs.

Occupation is wrong; it is also counterproductive. Peace will come only when Israel recognizes the rights of the Palestinian people to their own sovereign state, and both sides sign an agreement based on justice and mutual respect.

What Israelis Can Do:

Many peace organizations are voicing their protest this Friday and Saturday. If you live in Israel, join us:

q Joint Vigil in Jerusalem - Bat Shalom, Women in Black, and Mothers and Women for Peace. Men are invited, as every year, to mark the anniversary of the 1967 occupation.

q Conscientious Objection to Service in the Territories - Yesh Gvul visit to the West Bank to express solidarity with Palestinians and discuss with Israeli soldiers the alternatives to service in the territories.

q Lebanon - another occupied territory! Protest together with the Movement for Leaving Lebanon and the Four Mothers Movement in front of the Tel-Aviv Museum.

q A “Birthday Party for Israel’s Wars” at the Yadayim Art Gallery in Tel-Aviv. Participants are invited to “bring a gift for the State of Israel”, which will be put on exhibit (June 6-27). What gift would you give a state that has been at war for 50 years?

What Non-Israelis and Israelis Can Do:

Write an e-mail or fax to the politicians (Israeli and other). Do not write a long or eloquent letter. Even one sentence is enough, unless you want to write more. Just make sure that the subject line clearly and succinctly states your opinion. That is often all they read.

What to say?

q Protest Israel’s continued occupation.

q Protest Israeli home demolitions of Arab homes.

q Demand that Israel return occupied territories.

q Demand an end to U.S. support for Netanyahu.

q What else? Say what is in your heart.

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June 10, 1998

Peace and Anti-Peace

This past week, peace organizations marked the 31st (!) anniversary of Israel’s occupation, and the 16th (!) anniversary of the war with Lebanon. How long can rational people keep up this irrational and self-destructive policy? Far longer than anyone imagined, it seems.

Here’s a run-down of some recent peace – and anti-peace – activities in Israel.

Women’s Peace Vigils

Last Friday (June 5), a joint vigil of women’s peace activists dressed in black commemorated the 31st anniversary of Israel’s occupation. Women in Black, Bat Shalom, and Mothers and Women for Peace joined hands at our traditional “vigil plaza” in Jerusalem with the combined signs of our movements: Stop the Occupation; Two States for Two Nations; Jerusalem - the Capital of Two States; and We Have No Spare Children for War. That last one really gets me. On Saturday (June 6), the Four Mothers movement held a mass rally in Tel-Aviv demanding that Israel withdraw from Lebanon. Withdrawing from Lebanon will happen before the occupation is over, in my opinion.

Yesh Gvul

Yesh Gvul is an organization of men who refuse to do army service in the occupied territories - a powerful statement in Israel, where the army is a sacred cow. On Friday (June 5), Yesh Gvul organized a busload of activists to visit an Israeli army base in the territories to distribute printed material noting that every individual can make a choice about army service. They didn’t get far. The army stopped the bus shortly after it left Jerusalem – near the Efrat settlement. Several members of the group were detained, while several border policemen boarded the bus and forced the driver to turn back to Jerusalem. The border patrol did not have to use guns; they isolated the driver from the men in the back, and told him that he would have his driving license revoked if he disobeyed their orders. At the Jerusalem city limits, the border patrol got off the bus, and their accompanying jeep released the men who had been detained.

Confiscation of Arab Homes

The pastoral Palestinian village of Silwan at the edge of Jerusalem was again the site of extremist settlers who repeated their pattern of home-grabbing. At 3 in the morning this past Monday (June 8), a group of settlers broke down the doors of 3 more homes in this quiet village, throwing out the entire contents, and claiming the homes for their own. The awful part is that the settlers have legal documents to protect them – documents acquired in shady deals with shady Palestinians who collude with them to swindle the owners out of their homes. (These purchases are financed by Irving Moskowitz, who made his money from bingo parlors that milk the poor in California.) Peace Now arrived on the scene at the crack of dawn, and women of Bat Shalom joined them later in the morning with signs saying “Brutality Sanctioned by Law” and “Netanyahu is Poisoning the Peace”. Although the border patrol prevented us from paying a solidarity visit to the Palestinian families, the settlers entered and left at will. It was infuriating. Faisal Husseini, Minister for Jerusalem of the Palestinian National Authority, who had arrived at 3 in the morning, needed stitches in the head because of a rock thrown at him by settlers. His comment: “The real injured party here is the peace process.”

More Palestinian Homes Destroyed

A report from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: No fewer than 17 Bedouin families were made homeless last week when Israeli authorities destroyed their property – again. This was the second time these families had their homes destroyed. After the first time, Palestinian authorities had provided tents and basic needs, but this time the Israeli border patrol returned and carefully bulldozed everything... taking care to get the food stores for the sheep and families and the water tanks. Is this not a monstrous act? How dare this country behave like this in my name!! Or in yours, if you are Jewish. Or human.

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June 17, 1998

Violating the Peace

If your only source of information were Bibi Netanyahu, you might well think that Israel is eager to make peace, if only the Palestinians would keep their end of the agreements.

The truth is quite different.

Although there have been Palestinian breaches of the Oslo Peace Accords and subsequent agreements, it is Israel which has carried out the most flagrant violations of the letter and spirit of these accords. Some examples:

1. Redeployment

Netanyahu’s haggling over whether or not to withdraw from 13% of the territories in what he calls “the second redeployment” obscures the fact that Netanyahu never carried out the first redeployment. The Hebron agreement, which Netanyahu signed in January 1997